Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress are set to suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of ruling Biju Janata Dal in the rural polls of Odisha.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led BJD has taken the lead in 274 seats, leaving the BJP and the Congress at a distant second and third position with 20 and 16 seats by 7 p.m. As the ballot papers are being counted, declaration of results is likely be delayed.
The decimation of the two principal Opposition parties was visible with the BJD taking a comfortable lead in 86% of sets in the preliminary rounds of counting. In districts such as Kalahandi and Mayurbhanj, the BJP had performed spectacularly in 2017. This year, the saffron party has failed to come near to that performance.
In the 2017 elections to panchayati raj institutions, the BJD had won more than 50% seats in the zilla parishad seats which were held on party symbols. The BJD candidates had won 476 of the 846 seats.
The BJP came second with 297 seats. The victory was then termed as a stellar performance for the saffron party considering the BJD’s dominance in the State politics. In fact, the BJP had approached the 2019 elections claiming it had made its base strong in Odisha. The Congress had to be content with 60 seats.
In 2012 rural polls, the BJD had won 651 ZP seats while the Congress candidates came victorious in 126 seats and the BJP in only 36. It remains to be seen if the BJD repeats its 2012 election results.
In the current elections, 36,523 ward members, 126 sarpanch, 326 panchayat samiti members and one zilla parishad member have already won without contest. The counting of votes is going on at the block headquarters across the State from Saturday.
